Many in the accountancy and finance profession, politicians and the media will be looking to Brussels today to get a better feel for who he is - the man set to follow in Charlie McCreevy’s foot steps as the Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services.
The nomination hearings of the European commissioners will today include questioning of Michel Barnier, the French former commissioner for regional policy, to assess his suitability for office.
This is a person who is likely to have major impact on the accountancy and finance profession over the next five years. He will be responsible for the future single market regulatory framework, making sure we learn the lessons from the crisis. He will play a key role in shaping legislation and practices.
M. Barnier has already, in written answers to the Members of the European Parliament, outlined some of his priorities and planned legislative initiatives. Those include completion of the financial services supervision reform, a revision of the Capital Requirements Directive, and proposals for remedying weaknesses in the governance of financial establishments.
He has also suggested that the adoption of one global high-quality set of accounting standards will be high up his priorities list. He wants to modernise accounting regulations for SMEs and has also hinted that he wants the EU to adopt International Standards on Audit.
I agree that all these are important points and I’m especially encouraged by his comments advocating global accounting standards. Another promise he’s made is that he will be committed to engaging in dialogue with ‘elected representatives, economic and trade-union leaders and the general public’.
I believe listening will be key to his success and look forward to sharing our views with him and his team.
PS - You may have noticed some some changes to the design of my blog. We're making the site more aligned with the main ICAEW website, giving it a more current and dynamic look and feel. This doesn't afffect ways in which you can participate or contribute - you can read, comment and add posts in the same way. I do hope you like the changes - please tell me what you think.